A

Pr
ojecton
“
Elect
roni
cSi
gnat
ureCer
ti
fi
cat
eunderI
TAct
,2000”
Submi
tt
edi
nthepar
ti
alf
ulf
il
lmentof
B.
Com LL.
B(10thsemest
er)

Sessi
on:
2021-
2022

CYBERLAW

SUBMI
TTEDTO: SUBMI
TTEDBY:

Mr
.SudeepSar
wansi
r Neel
am Rat
hor
e

B.
Com. B10thsem
LL.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Iwoul
dli
ket
oexpr
essmyear
nestanddeepestgr
ati
tudet
oMr
.SudeepSar
wansi
raf
acul
tyf
or
“
CyberLaw”
,togi
vemeoppor
tuni
tyt
odoapr
ojectonsuchav
aluabl
etopi
cof‘
Elect
roni
c
Si
gnat
ureCer
ti
fi
cat
eunderI
TAct
,2000’
.Iam gr
atef
ulf
ort
heassi
stance,gui
danceandsuppor
t
t
hatwer
eext
endeddur
ingt
hecour
seofexcel
l
entr
esear
ch.Iam al
sot
hankf
ult
othecol
l
ege
admi
nist
rat
ionf
orpr
ovi
dinghi
mresour
cesnecessar
yfort
her
esear
chwor
k.It
hankmypar
ent
s
andmyf
ri
endsf
ort
hei
rmor
alsuppor
tandl
ovet
hroughoutmyr
esear
chwor
kandpr
oject
s
oper
ati
on.Abov
eal
lIt
hankt
heGodal
might
yfort
hebl
essi
ngmewi
tht
heheal
thv
ital
i
tyt
o
compl
etet
hispr
oj s.
ect

Neel
am Rat
hor
e

ROLL.
NO.
-16002126

B.
Com.
LL.
B10t
hSEM
 CERTI
FICATE

Iam t
ogl
adt
osubmi
tthi
spr
ojectr
epor
ton“
Elect
roni
cSi
gnat
ureCer
ti
fi
cat
eunderI
TAct
,2000”
asapar
tofmyacademi
cassi
gnment
.Thi
spr
ojecti
sbasedonr
esear
chmet
hodol
ogy
.Itf
urt
her
st
udi
esmaki
ngsour
cesandmet
hodofr
esear
chmet
hodol
ogy
.Ihopet
hiswoul
dbesi
gni
fi
cant
f
oracademi
cpur
poseaswel
laspr
ovei
nfor
mat
iont
oal
lreader
s.

Her
ethr
oughIdecl
aret
hatt
hispaperi
sanor
igi
nalpi
eceofr
esear
chandal
lthebor
rowedt
ext
andi
deashav
ebeendul
yacknowl
edged.

SUBMI
TTEDBY

Neel
am Rat
hor
e
 DECLARATI
ON
Neel
am Rat
hor
e,ROLL.NO.
16002126 B.
Com.
LL.
BIX Semest
er,OF GURU GHASIDAS
UNI
VERSI
TYdoesher
ebydecl
aret
hat
,thi
spr
ojecti
smyor
igi
nalwor
kandIhav
enotcopi
edt
his
pr
ojectoranypar
tther
efr
om anysour
ceswi
thoutanyacknowl
edgement
.Iam hi
ghl
yindebt
ed
t
otheaut
horoft
hebookt
hatIhav
epr
efer
redi
nmybookaswel
lasal
lthewr
it
ersoft
hear
ti
cles
andt
heowneroft
hei
nfor
mat
iont
akenf
rom websi
tet
oit
.Iti
sonl
ybecauseoft
hei
rcont
ri
but
ion
andpr
opergui
danceofmyf
acul
tyadv
iserMr
.SudeepSar
wanSi
r,t
hatIwasabl
etogat
herl
i
ght
ont
hesubj
ect
.

Neel
am Rat
hor
e

ROLL.
NO.
-16002126

B.
Com.
LL.
BXSEM.
 Sy
nopsi
s

1.I
ntr
oduct
ion

2.El
ect
roni
csi
gnat
ure

3.Di
git
alSi
gnat
uret
oEl
ect
roni
cSi
gnat
ure

4.UNCI
TRALModel
Lawonel
ect
roni
csi
gnat
ures2001

5.Ty
pesofel
ect
roni
csi
gnat
ure

6.TheCr
it
eri
aforVal
i
dE-
Signat
ures

7.Sui
tabl
eUseCasesf
orE-
Signat
ures

8.Document
sWhi
chCannotBeSi
gnedEl
ect
roni
cal
l
y

9.Funct
ionsofEl
ect
roni
cSi
gnat
ure

10.TheElect
roni
cSi
gnat
ureorEl
ect
roni
cAut
hent
icat
ionTechni
queandPr
ocedur
eRul
es,
2015

11.Of
fensesr
elat
edt
oEl
ect
roni
cSi
gnat
ure

12.Concl
usi
on

13.Bi
bli
ogr
aphy
I
ntr
oduct
ion

Thei ntroductionofsignatureshaspr ovi

dedadef i
niteident
ityt
othei ndiv
idual
sandal lowedt he
corpor atesect orandot herindi
vidualstof uncti
oni namannerf aster,keepingpacewi t
ht he
ongoi ngt echnology.Thesi gnatureshav ebyf arpl ayedahuger oleinindividual
’sdecisi
on
maki ngandenabl i
ngconsentatamuchl argerv alue.Inoldentimes,ev eryindivi
dualort he
author i
zedsi gnator
yhadt ogot hroughthedocumentent ir
elyandthenpr ovi
dehi sassent.This
createdenoughhur dl
esamongstt heor ganizati
onst okeepupwi t
ht hepaceoft hesignatory
andr ev ol
vear oundhis/hert i
meli
ne.Author i
zedSi gnatorymaynotbeatapar t
icul
arplaceand
sti
llallowhisassent .Technologyhasdul yprov i
dedhi sboon.

I
nadv ancementofthegrowi
ngindustri
alera,theUni
tedNat i
onsin1998madeanobservat
ion
thati
ncreasi
ngtr
ansacti
onsi
ncyberspaceov erther
ecentyearsmadeitver
ynecessar
ytohave
alegalframewor
kdeal i
ngwi
the-signatur
es.Itwasthestringentl
awsfore-si
gnat
ureandthe
devel
opmentofcyberlawswereseenast heneedofthehour .

El
ect
roni
csi
gnat
ure

El
ectronic Signatur
e pr ov
ides an el
ect
roni
crepresentat
ion ofthe i
ndivi
dual’
sidenti
tythat
prov
idest hepr oofofconsentandassent stothefactsofthegivensignat
ure.InToto,i
t’
san
approvalfrom thesignator
ythatheassentstot
hewr i
tt
enf or
matofthesameel ectr
oni
call
y.I
tis
i
mpor tantt o ensuret hatitis coming fr
om the authori
zed si
gnat
oryand has made no
modificat
ionst othedocument .

El
ect
roni
cSi
gnat
ureasdef
inedundert
heLaw

El
ect
roni
cSi
gnat
ure

Sec2(
a)ofI
nfor
mat
ionTechnol
ogyAct2000haddef
inesel
ect
roni
csi
gnat
ureas:

“
Aut
hent
icat
ionofanyel
ect
roni
crecor
dbyasubscr
iberbymeansoft
heel
ect
roni
ctechni
que
speci
fi
edi
nthesecondschedul
eandi
ncl
udesdi
git
alsi
gnat
ure.
”

Thedef i
niti
onofel ectr
onicsi
gnatureincl
udesdigit
alsignatureandot herel ectr
onictechniques
whichmaybespeci fi
edinthesecondschedul eoftheAct ,thusanel ectronicsignaturemeans
authenti
cationofanel ectr
oni
cr ecordbyasubscr i
berbymeansofel ectroni
ct echniques.The
adoptionof‘ el
ectronicsignat
ure’hasmadet heActt echnologicalneutralasi trecognizesboth
thedigitalsignaturemet hodbasedoncr ypt
ographytechniqueandel ectronicsignatureusing
othertechnologies.[4]

Di
git
alSi
gnat
uret
oEl
ect
roni
cSi
gnat
ure

Digi
talSi
gnatur
ewast heter
m definedintheoldI.T.Act
,2000.El
ectr
oni
cSignatur
eistheterm
defi
nedbytheamendedact( I
.T.Act,2008).TheconceptofEl
ectr
oni
cSignatur
eisbroadert
han
Digi
talSi
gnature.Secti
on3oft heActdel i
ver
sf ortheveri
fi
cat
ionofElectr
onicRecordsby
affi
xi
ngDigi
talSignat
ure.

Aspertheamendment,veri
fi
cat
ionofel
ect
ronicrecor
dbyel
ect
roni
csi
gnat
ureorel
ect
roni
c
aut
hent
icat
iont
echni
queshal
lbeconsi
der
edrel
iabl
e.

UNCI
TRALModel
Lawonel
ect
roni
csi
gnat
ures2001

ThepurposeofUNCI
TRALModelLaw onElect
roni
cSi
gnatur
es2001pr
ovi
dest
hef
oll
owi
ng
st
atementwhi
chsi
gni
fi
est
hei
mportanceofel
ect
roni
csi
gnat
ure.

“Thei ncreased useofel ectr oni

caut henti
cati
ont echniquesassubst itutesforhandwr it
ten
signaturesand ot hert r
adi t
ionalaut henti
cati
on procedureshassuggest ed the need fora
specifi
cl egalframewor kt or educeuncer taint
yast ot helegaleff
ectthatmayr esul
tfrom the
useofsuchmoder ntechniques( whichmayber ef
erredt ogeneral
lyas“electr
onicsignatur
es”).
Ther iskt hatdiv ergi
ngl egislati
veappr oachesbet akeni nv ar
iouscount r
ieswi t
hr espectto
electr
onicsi gnaturescallsforuni for
ml egisl
ati
veprov i
sionstoestabl
ishthebasicr ul
esofwhat
i
si nherently an i nt
ernationalphenomenon,wher el egalhar mony as wel las t echnical
i
nt er
oper abi
lit
yisadesi rableobj ecti
ve.”

Theneedf orE-Si
gnaturesinI ndiawasl argel
yr eal
izedi nthedecadeofthe’90swi t
hthe
emergenceoftheuseofComput ersdur i
ngt heI nf
ormat i
onTechnologyAgeanditsboom
peri
od.It
susagewaslegal l
yrecognizedandadopt edwhent heGover
nmentsect
orofIndi
atoo
star
tedshif
ti
ngitswor kingmet hodsf r
om acumber somepaper -
basedworki
ngsyst
em t oa
paperl
esssyst
em asithadbecomenear lyimpossi bl
et odealwit
hsomuchofhar dpaperand
fi
lesanddocumentsast heyusedt otakeal otofspaceal soandti
mealso.

Accor
dingtot
heUNCITRALMODELLAW onEl
ect
roni
cSi
gnat
ures,t
hef
oll
owi
ngt
echnol
ogi
es
ar
epresent
lyi
nuse−

 Di
git
alSi
gnat
urewi
thi
napubl
i
ckeyi
nfr
ast
ruct
ure(
PKI
)

 Bi
omet
ri
cDev
ice

 PI
Ns
  Passwor
ds

 Scannedhandwr
it
tensi
gnat
ure

 Si
gnat
urebyDi
git
alPen

 Cl
i
ckabl
e“OK”or“
IAccept
”or“
IAgr
ee”cl
i
ckboxes

Ty
pesofel
ect
roni
csi
gnat
ure

Unsecur
edSi
gnat
ure

Si
nceElectr
onicSignat
ureismoreofanunsecur edtypeofsi
gnature,t
hereareaffi
xat
ionst
hat
aremarkedintheendforrefer
ence.Howev
er ,
asst at
edear
li
er,
theycanbeeasi l
ytamperedand
notprovi
demuchoft hefocusont heauthenti
cit
yoftheIdenti
ty.Fol
lowingarethet y
pesof
El
ectr
onicSignat
ure:

1)Emai
lSignat
ure–Justmerelyt
ypingone’
snameorsymboli
ntheendofanemai
lorsendi
ng
amessageonlett
erhead,
theycaneasil
ybefor
gedbyany
oneel
se.

2)WebBasedSi gnat
ure–I nmanyorganizat
ions,
theCompanydonsmanyhat swithr
egardsto
acti
vi
ti
esconductedint heOrgani
zati
ons,thismaymaket heorgani
zati
onf
allf
orWeb-based
cl
ickwrapcontr
actsinwhi chtheaccept
ancei smademer elybycli
cki
ngasi
nglebut
ton.Such
si
gnatur
esbindthepartyevenift
heywereconnedf r
audul
ent l
y.

Theadv ancementofgr owingonl i

netr
ansactionshascausedv ar
iet
yofcy bercri
met otake
pl
acer i
ghtfrom thedecepti
venesstohiddenidenti
ty.I
tisfort hisr
easont hatDigi
talSi
gnat
ure
i
st akenasamor estr
ingentform ofsi
gnatur
eandt opr otecttheidenti
tyoft hesender
.There
aremor eadvancedway stocurbthemenacecausedi nElectronicSi
gnaturesaswell.

Secur
edSi
gnat
ure

Thi
sincl
udest
hesi
gnat
ureswhi
ch ar
edi
git
all
ysecur
ed and al
so whi
ch hav
emor
elegal
wei
ght
age.

TheCr
it
eri
aforVal
i
dE-
Signat
ures

Themosti mportantmilestonefore-signat
urelawsi
nIndi
awasi n2008.Inthi
sy ear
,the
I
nformati
ontechnologyact2008i nt
roducedsomeamendments.Theamendmentbr
oughtthe
def
ini
ti
onof‘el
ectroni
csignatur
e’i
ntothescenari
o.

Sect
ion2(
a)oft
heactst
atedt
hedef
ini
ti
onofel
ect
roni
csi
gnat
ure.

“
Anel ect
roni
csignat
ureisdefi
nedast
heaut
hent
icat
ionofel
ect
roni
crecor
dsbysubscr
iber
s
t
hroughelect
roni
ctechni
ques.
”

ScheduleIIoftheInfor
mati
onTechnol
ogyAct,2000poi
ntsoutthedefi
nit
ionsofel
ectr
onic
techni
ques.Accordi
ngtothei
nfor
mati
ontechnol
ogyAct
,e-
signat
ureshav
etosati
sfydi
ff
erent
cri
teri
aforval
i
dity
.
Thecr
it
eri
acanbeout
li
nedasf
oll
ows–

 E-si
gnat
uresshouldbeli
nkedtothepersonsi
gni
ngadocumentwi
thauni
queI
D.The
uniqueI
Disgeneral
lyadi
git
al-
cer
ti
fi
edID.

 Thesignat
oryshoul
dhav ecompletecontrol
overthedatausedtocreat
ethee-
signat
ure.
Thesignatoryshoul
dgett hi
scont rolattheti
meofsi gni
ng.General
ly
,e-si
gnatur
e
ser
viceprovi
dersauthor
izesignator
iestoaffi
xthei
re-signat
uret
ot hedocument.This
hel
psinfulf
il
li
ngthi
srequir
ement .

 Thechangestothedocumentortheatt
achede-si
gnat
ureshoul
dbedetect
able.User
s
coul
dful
fi
llt
hisr
equi
rementbyencry
pti
onofthedocumentwi
thatamper
-evi
dentseal
.

 Thee-
signat
ureisv
ali
donl
yifi
thasanauditt
rai
l
.Theaudi
ttr
aili
sanaccountoft
he
st
epsi
mpl ement
edint
hesi
gni
ngprocess.

 Accordi
ngtotheinformati
ontechnologyact
,acert
if
yingauthori
ty(CA)recogni
zedby
theContr
oll
erofCer
tif
yingAut
hori
ties(CCA)i
ssuesadi
gital
signat
urecert
if
icat
e.

Sui
tabl
eUseCasesf
orE-
Signat
ures

Anel ect
ronicsignatur
eisvali
di fitsati
sfiedal lthesecondi ti
ons.TheI nformati
ontechnology
act2000i spresentl
ythemaingov erni
nglawf orthev ali
dityofe-
signaturesinIndi
a.Atthispoi
nt,
therearenocasel awsthatrelatet odisputesr egar di
ngt heapplicati
onofe- si
gnatures.The
diff
erenttypesofusecaseswher et hest andardel ectronicsi
gnat ur
ecanbeappl iedareas
foll
ows.

 Commer cialagreementsamongcor porat

eenti
ti
es.Thesemayi
ncl
udepr
ocur
ement
deal
s,salesagreements,
andnon-
disclosur
eagr
eements.

 E-
signat
uresar
eal
soappl
i
cabl
etoHRdocument
s.Theexampl
esi
ncl
udeempl
oyment
cont
ract
s,newempl
oyeeonboar
dingpr
ocesses,
andbenef
it
spaper
wor
k.

Document
sWhi
chCannotBeSi
gnedEl
ect
roni
cal
l
y

TheITAct2000al sopresent
sdetai
l
sofusecasest hatarenotsui
tabl
efort heuseofdigi
tal
si
gnatur
es.Thef
irstconcerni
nvol
vesprocessesthatrequi
rehandwr
it
tensignatur
es.Butt
heIT
actdoesnotcovertheseusecases.Itcoversexampl esofusecasesthatcannotbesigned
el
ectr
onical
l
y.

 Handwr
it
tennegot
iabl
einst
rument
sexceptf
orcheques.

 Tr
ustdeedsdocument
s,wr
it
tenbyhands.

 Handwr
it
tenwi
l
lsoranyt
est
ament
s.

 Powerofat
tor
ney
,wr
it
tenbyhands.
  Handwri
tt
encont
ract
sforsal
eorconv
eyanceofi
mmov
abl
epr
oper
tyandi
nter
esti
nthe
pr
opert
y.

 Realestatedocuments;t
heexamplesincl
udepur
chaseandsal
escontr
act
sandlease
agreements.Documentat
ionforr
esidenti
alandcommerci
alr
ealest
atecanal
sonot
i
nvolvee-si
gnatur
es.

Funct
ionsofEl
ect
roni
cSi
gnat
ure

Theconceptofel ectronicsi gnat urewasi ntr

oduced undersect ion 3A oft heI nformation
Technology( Amendment )Act2008.An el ectroni
c si gnatur e means aut hent i
cat i
on ofan
electr
onicr ecordbyasubscr iberbyanymeansofel ectr
oni caut hent i
cati
ont echni ques.An
electr
onicsi gnaturet echniquecan beused asan aut horized el ect
ronicsi gnat urei fsuch
techniqueisnot if
iedbyt hecent ralgov er
nmenti ntheof fici
algazet t
eori nthesecondschedul e
oftheAct .Therear edi f
ferentt ypesofel ect
ronicsignatur e,howev er,al
lofthem ar enotsecur e;
henceonl ythet echniquesnot i
fiedi ntheoff
icialgazetteori nt hesecondschedul ecanbeused
asal egiti
mat eelectronicsignat ur e.Forexampl etypedname, adi git
izedimageofasi gnatureis
alsoaf orm ofel ectronicsi gnat ur e,butispronet ot amper ingandi sinsecure.Theel ect
ronic
signaturetechniquehast ober el iabletober ecognizedasanel ect
ronicsignatur e.Sect ion3Aof
theInformat i
onTechnol ogyAct2000i sbasedonAr t
icle6“ Compl iancewi t
har equirementf ora
signature”ofUNCI TRALModelLaw onEl ectronicSi gnatur es2001.Thef ollowingar et he
requir
ementofanel ectr
oni csignat ure.

a)I
thast
ober
eli
abl
e.

b)Thecentralgov
ernmentmaynotif
yintheoffi
cialgazet
tet
het echni
queandprocedure
forel
ect
ronicsi
gnat
ureorspeci
fyi
nthesecondscheduleoftheInfor
mati
onTechnology
Act2000.

a)Anel
ect
roni
cSi
gnat
ureshal
lbeconsi
der
edasr
eli
abl
eifi
tful
fi
ll
sfol
l
owi
ngr
equi
rement
,

a)Thet
echni
queshoul
dbesucht
hati
tcanbel
i
nkedt
othecr
eat
oroft
hemessage.

b)Thetechni
queofel
ect
roni
csi
gnat
uremustbeundert
hecont
roloft
hemakeroft
he
si
gnatur
e.

c) Anychangeoral
ter
ati
ont
otheel
ect
roni
csi
gnat
ureaf
teraf
fi
xat
ionmustbedet
ect
abl
e.

d)Anychangeoral
ter
ati
onofdat
aaf
teraf
fi
xi
ngel
ect
roni
csi
gnat
uremustbedet
ect
abl
e.

TheCent ralGov ernmentistheaut hor

it
yt odeclarethetechniqueasr el
iableel ectronicsignature
andcanaddorr emoveanyt echniquefrom theelectroni
caut henti
cati
ont echni que.Asondat e
thecent ralgov ernmenthasnoti ssuedanynot i
fi
cati
onont heconceptofel ect r
oni csignature
andt hust heel ect r
oni
csignaturehasnotgai nedmuchat t
ent i
on.Inthisr egar dt heDel hihigh
courthas di rect ed t
he centralgov er
nmentt of r
ame pol icy on electronic si gnaturef or
authenticat i
onofel ect
ronicrecords.Theonlymet hodofaut henti
cati
onofel ectronicrecor dsin
Indi
apr esent lybei ngdigi
talsi
gnatureast her
ear enogui del
inesonuseofel ect r
oni csignature.
Thel egalrecogni
ti
onofel ectr
onicsignaturehasbeenpr ov
idedundersect i
on5ofi nformation
technologyAct2000.Thi ssection equateselectr
onicsignat
ureast r
aditi
onalhandwr i
tten
signature.I
tprovi
dest hatifany,inf
ormat i
onordocumenti fconfir
medbyel ectr
onicsignature
shallhav ethesameef fectast heaf f
ixi
ngofsi gnatur
eifdoneaccor dingtot heprescri
bed
manner .Thecentralgovernmentshallprescri
bethemanneri nwhichel
ectronicsi
gnaturehast o
beaf fi
xed

TheElect
roni
cSi
gnat
ureorEl
ect
roni
cAut
hent
icat
ionTechni
queandPr
ocedur
eRul
es,
2015

India achi
eved anothernotabl
e mi lest
one inr egul
ati
on fore- si
gnatur
es long af t
ert he
Infor
mat i
onTechnologyact,2008amendment .Despit
ethecl eardefi
nit
ionandav ai
labil
it
yof
provisi
onsenabling theuseofe- signatur
es,theywer enotused.Howev er
,theEl ectr
onic
SignatureorElectr
onicAuthent
icat
ionTechniqueandPr ocedureRules,2015broughtanew
change.

Also,theDigit
alSignatureRules( EndEnt i
ty)
,2015camei ntoexistence.Themostnot i
ceable
appli
cationoftheserulesprovidedthebasi sofe-si
gnat
ureregul
ationsinIndiaasknownt oday.
Forexampl e,theCont rol
lerofCer t
ify
ingAut hori
ti
es(CCA)dev elopedwi ththeInf
ormat i
on
technologyact,r
eceiv
edmor epower s.TheCCAi snowcapableofr egul
atingandprovi
dingthe
requir
ementsandpr ocessf orusinge-authent
icati
onmethods.

TheCur
rentst
ateofE-
Signat
ureLegal
i
ty

AccordingtotheI nformati
onTechnologyActinI
ndia,thesol
eauthor
it
yovere-si
gnatur
esisthe
CentralGov ernment .The CentralGov er
nmenthol ds the aut
hor
it
yf ordeclari
ng rel
iable
techniquesfore-signatur
e.TheCentr
alGovernmentcouldaddorremoveanytechni
quev al
i
df or
elect
ronicauthenticati
on.

However
,theCent r
alGov
ernmenthasnoti ssuedanynot i
fi
cationregar
dingtheconceptof
el
ect
roni
csi gnat
ure.So,t
heonlymethodusedf orel
ect
roni
csi gnat
uresisdigi
talsi
gnat
ures.
TheexamplesofAadhaarbasedident
if
yv er
if
icati
onandelectr
onicsigni
ngshowt hefact
.The
Del
hiHigh Courthasasked theCent r
alGov ernmenttointroducepolici
eson theuseof
el
ect
roni
csignatures.

Thisclear
lyshowst hatthelegalaspectsofe-si
gnaturesarerel
ati
vel
yunder developedinI
ndia.
Howev er,
theITactoutli
nest hecri
teri
aforthelegalrecogni
ti
onofe-signat
urei nSecti
on5.The
secti
onout l
i
nest hatift heprescri
bedr equi
rementshav ebeenf ol
lowed,t henanel ect
ronic
si
gnatureisval
idj
ustl i
keahandwr it
tensignat
ure.

Youshoul dalsotakenot eoftheof fensesout l

inedinelectr
oni
csignatur
es.Theof f
ensescan
i
nclude publishi
ng false e-si
gnature cer t
if
icates,identi
tythef
t,or publishi
ng electr
onic
cert
if
icates fora fraudulentpur pose.The ot herof f
enses i
nclude misr
epresentat
ion or
suppressionofmateri
al f
acttoobtaine-signatureorli
cense.
Of
fensesr
elat
edt
oEl
ect
roni
cSi
gnat
ure

Theof fensesr el
atedt oelect
roni
csi gnat
urear egeneral
lyrel
atedidenti
tytheft
,publi
cat
ionof
false el ect
ronic signatur
e certi
fi
cate,publicati
on ofelectr
onic certi
fi
cate wit
hf r
audul
ent
pur pose.Section66Coft heActpunishesf oridenti
tyt
heft
.ThisActpunishesfraudul
entuseof
electronicsignatureofanyot herpersonandsuchper sonshal
lbepuni shedwithimpri
sonment
ofupt ot hr
eey ear
sandwi l
lal
soliabl
et opayf i
neswhichmayext endupt oonelakh.

Misr
epresent
ati
onorsuppressionofmater
ialf
actinordert
oobtai
nanyli
censeorel
ect
roni
c
si
gnatur
eisanoffenseundersect
ion71oft
heAct.Thi
ssecti
oni
sappli
cabl
einfol
l
owi
ngcases

a)I
faper
sonmakesami
srepr
esent
ati
ont
otheCont
rol
l
erorCer
ti
fyi
ngaut
hor
it
y.

b)I
faper
sonsuppr
essesanymat
eri
alf
actf
rom,
theCont
rol
l
erorCer
ti
fyi
ngaut
hor
it
y.

Suchmisrepr
esent ati
onorsuppressionofmat eri
alfactwit
hthei nt
entt oobtai
nanyl i
censeor
el
ectr
oniccert
if
icatefrom,theControllerorCer
ti
fyi
ngauthori
tyispunishablewit
himprisonment
ofupt otwoy ear sandf i
neupt or upeesonel akh.Theinformationt obepr ovi
dedt othe
Contr
oll
erorCer tifyi
ngauthori
tyshoul dbepr operandcor rectandpr esent
ati
onofwr ong,
i
ncorr
ectorfal
sei nformat
ionisanof fenseunderSecti
on71oft heAct .

Publi
cati
onofelect
ronicsi
gnat
urecert
ifi
cat
ewhichi
sfal
seincert
ainpar
ticul
arsi
sanof f
ense
undersecti
on73oft heAct
.Thefol
lowingshal
lamountt
opubl
icat
ionoffalsepar
ti
cul
arsinan
el
ectroni
ccert
if
icat
e,

a)Publ
icat
ion ofEl
ect
roni
csi
gnat
urecer
ti
fi
cat
ewhi
ch t
hecer
ti
fyi
ng aut
hor
it
yhasnot
i
ssued.

b)Publi
cationofEl
ect
roni
csi
gnat
urecer
ti
fi
cat
ewhi
chsubscr
iberoft
hecer
ti
fi
cat
ehasnot
accepted.

c) Publ
i
cat
ionofEl
ect
roni
csi
gnat
urecer
ti
fi
cat
ewhi
chi
srev
okedorsuspended.

Sec74oftheActpuni shescreati
on,publ
icati
onorprov
idi
ngofel
ect
roni
csi
gnat
urecer
ti
fi
cat
e
forf
raudul
entorunlawfulpurposewithimprisonmentf
orater
m whi
chmayextenduptotwo
year
sorafinewhichmayext enduptoonel akh.
 Concl
usi
on

Basedonanout lookoft hee-si

gnl awsi nI ndiaaccor dingtotheIT Act2000,t heabov e
discussi
onconcl
udesnow.Thedi scussi
onpr ovidedi nf
ormat i
ononthegeneralconceptofe-
si
gnat ur
eaccept
edl egal
l
yi nIndi
a.Thet ypesofe- signaturesconsi
der
edv al
idaccordingtothe
IT actformedani mpor t
antpar toft hediscussi on.Theusecasessui t
abl
ef orel ect
roni
c
si
gnat ur
esandtheunsui tabl
edocument sal sor efinedanunder st
andingofthel egali
tyofe-
si
gnat ur
esinI
ndi
a.
 Bi
bli
oghr
aphy

ht
tps:
//l
unar
pen.
com/
blog/
elect
roni
c-si
gnat
ure-
law-
indi
a/

ht
tps:
//bl
og.
ipl
eader
s.i
n/di
git
al-
elect
roni
c-si
gnat
ure/
amp/

htt
p://
www.legal
ser
vicesi
ndi
a.com/
art
icl
e/1827/
Elect
roni
c-Si
gnat
ure:
-Legal
-and-
Techni
cal
-
aspect.
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